Lemony Snicket is a genius! (The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket)

Member Name: Nic25

Product:	The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket
Date:	23/02/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well written, keeps attention, great for all ages

Disadvantages: Not a happy ending!

I was a big reader as a child, and used to love all the adventure and mystery books, given to us by the likes of Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. I loved the fact that the bookswere full of twists and turns, lots of scary moments, and eventually, always ended with the heroes or heroines winning through, solving the mystery and saving the day. As I grew up, I found I didn't get the same satisfaction from the, much more serious adult 'crime' books, and only REALLY enjoyed a mystery book again when I picked up the Harry Potter series a few years ago. Although really aimed at children, I found this style of book could still be enjoyed by adults, but held onto that nice light-hearted feel, where you know the hero will win through.

Having finished the Harry Potter series long ago, I've searched for something similar ever since, to no avail. That is, until I heard about the genius that is Lemony Snicket.

Snicket is the mind behind this series of books, entitled 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'. Lemony Snicket, clearly a pseudoneum, writes as a sort of undercover agent, who has promised to make these stories available 'to the general public', and who, through the books, makes little comments as asides, about his past and present circumstances, which sound just as interesting as the story he's writing, and would make a good novel on their own!

This book, 'The Bad Beginning' is the first in the series, and, as the title implies, describes how this series of unfortunate events begins.
The story revolves around three siblings - the Baudelaires, who lose their parents, house, and all their belongings in a terrible fire. They are sent to stay with the fourth main character in the book, the terrible Count Olaf, a distant relative of their parents, who only seems interested in stealing the huge fortune left to the orphans.

The first thing to attract me to the book was actually the little paragraph on the back cover (incidentaly, not the cover shown, but the original first book before the movie came out). Where most books use this little blurb to attract you to read it, Snicket does the exact oposite, and advises the reader to put this horrible tale of woe back down and pick something happier to read. If anything is going to make you nosy about what's in a book, that will!

Although primarily aimed at younger readers, the book is very suitable for adults - I was as confused by the twists and turns as anyone! - and Snicket has written the story very well, adding great little bits of dry humour, and use of vocabulary better understood by a more mature reader.

The first book in the series does not disappoint, and certainly leaves you wanting to read more about these poor children and the despicable Count, not to mention the strange life of the author himself!

The only difference from the rest of my favourite childs adventure stories, is the end of this book. I don't want to ruin the story for anyone, but Snicket does warn readers throughout the book that this particular story does not have a happy ending, and although the heroes do their best to win, it is unfortunately not to be, and the evil Count and his associates do seem to get away. However, this does just make you more interested in reading the next and the next books in the series to see if eventually he will get his comeuppance.

This book, and the two following, were recently made into a film, simply entited 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'. Although a great film, I'd certainly still recommend reading the books, as I found many parts had been missed in order to combine the three books into one. You also miss out on the unusual style of writing Snicket uses, which really adds to the charm of the stories.

The Bad Beginning is a fabulous book, whether to read yourself, to give to your kids, or to read together as a bed time story. It is very well written, really holds attention, and has all the ingredients for a huge children's hit.

Summary: A fabulous modern childrens story, great for all ges!